The invention relates to an intermediate for a business form such as a mailing label that incorporates an invoice and reply envelope in a one-part continuous form that can be printed, preferably in the simplex mode.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,506 teaches a packing list or bill of lading constructed by Z-folding an intermediate about first and second fold lines to define three plys with aligned first and second lines of weakness formed in the plys parallel to the first and second side edges, to define detachable side strips. Patterns of pressure activated cohesive secure the detachable side strips of the plys to each other and patterns of pressure sensitive adhesive covered by release liners are provided, disposed only in the detachable side strips, to hold the form in contact with a package when the release liners are removed.
The ""506 mailer construction is adapted to be printed in portrait orientation. Further the mailer has substantially wide side strips for facilitating its adherence to a package and, thus, has a substantial widthwise dimension. Furthermore, the mailer is not adapted to forming a reply envelope and therefore the mailing label produced cannot incorporate an invoice and reply envelope.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an intermediate for a business form is provided that serves as a mailing label and further incorporates an invoice and reply envelope in a one-part, continuous form adapted to be simplex printed. Furthermore, the mailer is, in a preferred embodiment, provided in a compact size of about 8 inchesxc3x974 inches so as to be able to fit on relatively small or compact packages. While the compact size of the invention is particularly adapted for use as a mailing label, it is completely postal compatible so it may be used independently as a one-part mailer by service industries, such as utility companies and medical/dental office billings. The compact size of the mailer is further advantageous for customers who lease printer equipment and pay by the linear foot rather than cycle count. Indeed, the smaller size of the product reduces cost to the customer when larger areas of conventional mailers are not required for customer information.
It is an object of the invention to provide a pressure seal Z-fold reply envelope construction that can be used as a package mailing label or independently as a one-part mailer and that advantageously provides a top open reply envelope making the product friendlier and more versatile to the end user.
According to the present invention, an intermediate for a mailer type business form and the mailer itself are provided which achieves the objectives set forth above. The intermediate comprises a single quadrate sheet of paper, which may be easily run through a printer to print indicia on either one or both faces. In an exemplary embodiment, the outgoing address and the reply address are landscape printed on the same face of the intermediate and thus the intermediate is adapted to variable printing in the simplexed mode. The intermediate may be easily Z-folded to form the final mailer and sealed by conventional techniques. The mailer is easy to open and the reply envelope is easy to assemble and utilize.
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the forms are provided in a rotated format to provide two forms every fourteen inches. Thus, the top edge and the bottom edge of each individual intermediate mailer form is provided along first and second side edges of the continuous form fed for printing.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the face of the document has three equal panels, one panel, for example the top panel, serves a dual purpose. It is provided as the face of the outgoing mail piece and also defines the rear panel of the reply envelope, with the face that defined the outgoing mail piece front panel serving as the back face of the return mailer envelope. The second panel, for example the middle panel, defines the front panel of the reply envelope. The third panel, for example the bottom panel, defines the invoicing and/or remittance piece or portion.
The business form mailer intermediate provided according to the invention is imaged in the simplexed mode and then folded and sealed in a conventional manner. When the end user receives the document, the two vertical sides are removed and then the remainder of the document is opened by breaking adhesive regions defined at the bottom, using a letter opener, index finger, or the like. The statement is then detached from the document. The recipient fills out the remittance portion of the statement, if provided. A stub portion located at the top of the form is removed to define the back of the return mail piece. A check is then inserted along with the remittance stub or portion into the reply envelope and the envelope is sealed by wetting the adhesive flap of the reply envelope and applying it to the back of the return/reply mail piece.
Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, an intermediate for a mailer type business form comprises a quadrate sheet of paper having parallel top and bottom edges, parallel first and second side edges perpendicular to the top and bottom edges, and first and second faces; first and second fold lines parallel to the top and bottom edges, and dividing the sheet into substantially equal size first, second, and third panels, an outgoing address area defined on the first face of the first panel, the outgoing address area being spaced from the first and second side edges; a reply address area defined on the first face of the second panel, the reply address area being spaced from the first and second side edges; an area for at least one of invoice and remittance information being defined on the first face of the third panel; first and second lines of weakness formed in the first, second and third panels, respectively parallel to and spaced from each of the first and second side edges; the first and second lines of weakness defining tear-off strips providing for ready opening of a mailer constructed by Z-folding the sheet about the fold lines; first adhesive areas provided at least in the tear-off strips for holding the first through third panels together as an outgoing mailer when the sheet is Z-folded about the fold lines; and second adhesive areas provided on the second face of the first and second panels for defining the first and second panels into a reply envelope that is substantially sealed along first and second side edges thereof.
A reply envelope closing flap is defined by a portion of the second panel and has an activatable, for example re-wettable, adhesive on the second face thereof for sealing the reply envelope. A line of weakness is formed in the first panel parallel to the top edge to define a removable stub for being removed when the reply envelope is formed.
In an exemplary embodiment, the first adhesive areas comprise spaced adhesive areas in the tear-off strips on the first face of the second and third panels and spaced adhesive areas in the tear-off strips on the second face of the first and second panels, and the first adhesive areas are sized and spaced so that when one intermediate is stacked upon another, so that the second face thereof is disposed on the first face of an adjacent intermediate, the first adhesive areas of the second and first faces of the intermediates, respectively, do not overlap.
According to another aspect of the invention, the intermediate of the invention is provided in a rotated format to provide two intermediate forms every fourteen inches. Thus, the invention is further embodied in a continuous feed intermediate form having a longitudinal axis and first and second longitudinal side edges comprising first and second intermediates, as described above, the intermediates being disposed in side-by-side relation so that top and bottom end edges of the intermediate are disposed parallel to a longitudinal axis of the continuous feed form and parallel to the longitudinal side edges of the continuous feed form.
According to yet a further aspect of the invention, a mailer type business form is provided that comprises: first, second, and third substantially equal size quadrate substantially opaque panels, the second panel being sandwiched between the first and third panels, and each panel having a first face and a second face, first and second side edges, and first and second end edges; outgoing address indicia provided on the first face of the first panel; reply address indicia provided on the first face of the second panel, the reply address indicia being inverted with respect to the outgoing address indicia; at least one of invoice and remittance indicia provided on the first face of the third panel; first adhesive patterns provided on the first panel second face and/or second panel second face for defining the first and second panels into a reply envelope that is substantially sealed along first and second side edges thereof; a reply envelope closing flap formed by a fold line defined in the second panel in parallel, spaced relation to the second end edge thereof and having activatable adhesive on the second face thereof for sealing the reply envelope; first and second lines of weakness formed in the first, second and third panels, respectively parallel to and spaced from each of the first and second side edges thereof; the first and second lines of weakness defining tear-off strips providing for ready opening of the mailer; and permanent adhesive areas provided at least in some of the tear-off strips for holding the first through third panels together.